Friends in Mirkwood
by swfan101
Summary: After the escape of Thorin and Company from Mirkwood Tauriel feels as if Thranduil blames her. Can Legolas convince her otherwise? And can she come to terms with her past?


So you can either take this as a friendship fic the way I do, or you can ship LegolaS and Tauriel. I don't care, but personally I'm waiting until I see the move to decide.

The back stories are all made up, just my opinions on Tauriel's parents and Legolas's mother. Tauriel's age is also made up.

Vin Sambe means 'our room'

Xxxxxxxxxx

The room was so cold.

"Ada," Prince Legolas said, "It wasn't Tauriel's fault." How? How could he say that when it so clearly was my fault? How could he defend me? I was a mistake.

"If the fault was not hers," the King asked, "Then whose was it?" His eyes flicked almost lazily from his son to me, then back to his son.

"No one. Father we have no idea how the dwarves escaped." Legolas said. My heart wrenched at his overly kind words. Words I did not deserve.

"You had the keys Tauriel," the king said, "Tell me, how did the dwarves get them?" He was being overly kind. I had faithfully served him for so long that I had become a favorite, enough of one for a small kindness anyway.

His eyes were cold.

"I do not know my King." I answered truthfully. "I was at the festivities." Legolas could vouch for me, I spent much of my time with him.

The King said nothing for a very long while, and I became afraid. Finally he said, "The kitchen has been reporting missing food, we have a pickpocket amongst us."

The King left Legolas and I, but I could not forget the cold in his eyes. I had seen it before, but never had it been directed at me, at least not in such a terrifyingly condensed amount.

"Come Tauriel." Legolas placed his hand on my back. "You have not eaten in many hours." He pushed, as if expecting to make me move.

I did not move, remaining where I was, finally allowing the tears I had been withholding to fall for I knew my Prince would not judge me as harshly as my King.

"Tauriel." He said gently, "It is not your fault." I sat on the stone steps and buried my face in my hands. "Tauriel?"

The steps were so cold.

I heard a rustle of fabric, but did not look up until I felt my fingers pried off my face. Legolas had knelt in from of me, and my face was now level with his. His eyes were full of compassion and worry for me and he rubbed my hands in his.

"Tauriel." He said softly, "Do not blame yourself." I was thankful for the emptiness of the room. Far too often people assumed things about myself and the Prince I would rather not have spread around. We were friends, nothing more, nothing less.

His hands were warm.

"Prince." I said softly. "Do not fret. I'm fine." I wanted left alone in my misery, to be alone with the guilt that had been eating at me since the dwarves disappeared the day before.

"No you aren't. I can read you like an open book Forest Girl." He reminded me, still holding my hands tightly in his.

"As I can you Greenleaf." I shot back. The nicknames were old, playful, twisted variations of our elvish names. He had called me that nearly as long as I had known him, but it had taken a while for me to warm up enough to stop calling him 'Prince' or 'My Lord.'

"Let me help you." He pleaded. "Tell me what to do." His eyes were welcoming. I wanted to let him help, but I did not wish to burden him with silly thoughts and words so I continued to cry and block out the prince.

His eyes were warm.

"I want to help." He pressed. "Tauriel you always push me away. You always have. Forget that I am a prince, allow me to help my best friend. Please?"

I said nothing, but tried to pull my hands from his. He tightened his grip and a small struggle ensued. Finally I wrenched one had away and wiped tears from my face before allowing him to reclaim my hand.

"Tauriel tell me how to help." He said gently. The small fight had distracted me from the problem at hand, but his words reminded me, and I felt more tears fall. Ashamed I attempted to take my hand back to wipe those away too, but Legolas beat me to it. One large hand was still wrapped around my two smaller ones as his free hand wiped my tears.

I flushed red as his shirt sleeve touched the bare skin of my face, the fabric rough against my smooth elven skin. "Please," I choked. "Let me care for myself."

"Why?" He asked, both hands back around mine. "Why do you always push me away? Tauriel all I have ever wished to do is help you." He sighed. "And you push me away."

"I failed your father." I sniffed, finally managing to stem the flow of tears. "After all that he has done for me I failed him when he needed me most."

Legolas's eyes widened, "Tauriel!" He gasped. "Your service is appreciated, not required or expected." He squeezed my hands. "They were just dwarves." He offered me a weak smile which I hesitantly returned.

I heard approaching footsteps and before I could think Legolas had released me and stood, turning his back to me so that he faced the door, and blocked me from view.

I rubbed my eyes and face, sure that it was red and puffy. I am a warrior, I should not cry. I cannot show weakness. Galion entered the room and bowed to Legolas, "Your father wants you to dine with him."

"Tell him I have other plans," the Prince replied. "And that I am most sorry and will make my excuse in person later."

I wasn't sure who was more shocked. Galion or I, "My Prince-" the butler stuttered, "He- he seemed to- Well I believe he- he- May I be blunt?" From my vantage point on the floor I saw Legolas nod. "He seemed to be in a foul mood."

"All the more reason for me not to dine with him," Legolas replied, shocking myself and the poor butler again. "Though I would appreciate it if he were not told I said that Galion."

"Of course Prince Legolas. I will tell him you have plans." He must have seen me for he suddenly added. "With Captain Tauriel." He was gone before either Legolas or I could correct him, we just exchanged horrified looks.

"Well," Legolas said, "At least we don't need to worry about him starting rumors. My own father will instead." He chuckled dryly, but I missed the humor.

I stood slowly, for a moment feeling every one of my nine hundred thirty-four years. The aged feeling passed as quickly as it came, and I felt young again.

"Come Tauriel," Legolas placed his hand on my back again, "Let us get you something to eat." He pushed on me, once again expecting me to move, and once again I did not. "Tauriel."

"I am going to train." I said, "I need to get my mind off things." I broke away from him quickly, before he could stop me, and was nearly at the door when he next spoke.

"Tauriel stop." There was a certain tone to his voice. A level of maturity and authority he rarely used except when he meant business. I immediately stopped.

"Yes Legolas?" I asked uncertainly. He strode up to me, and I could feel the authority coming off of him. It was in his stride, his posture, every footfall.

"You are not going to train." He told me. "You are going to eat, then you will rest, then you will tell me what is bothering you and I will fix it!"

I knew better than to argue, "Yes my prince." I replied softly, suddenly feeling trapped. "As you wish." He looked relieved.

I started to the main hall where I knew dinner was currently being served, but Legolas caught my hand, "To the kitchen." He said, dragging me after him.

The walk to the kitchen was short and thankfully we did not run across anyone. I would have been most embarrassed to be seen being drug around like a wayward child because Legolas would not release my wrist.

In the kitchen he finally did release me, and we both collected plates of food and wine and left before we were seen. We went up several flights of stairs and down the hall to where we lived. To my surprise we passed my room and went through the next door, going into Legolas and his father's area of the palace. I now knew where Legolas planned to take us, even before he stopped before Vin Sambe, Our Room.

He opened the door and we entered what had once been a closet, but had become a fort of sorts for the prince and I during our childhood. We placed our food on the table in the center of the room and sat down.

"I swear this table is even smaller than last time we used it." I grumbled as I had to cram my long legs under the small table and short chairs.

"Remember how we got the table?" Legolas asked suddenly. "And the chairs?" He laughed into his wine, "Ada couldn't believe it. Neither could I for that matter." He added thoughtfully.

"True." I agreed. "And the book shelves?" I smiled enthusiastically. "Remember, your father caught us trying to make one to keep our 'treasures' on. I thought he would be furious, but he helped us make them." In the wooden shelves next to me I can still see where we had each carved our names after we finished crafting them. Sure they were a little lopsided, and the paint job was awful, but memory was poured into it, just as memories were poured into each object we had carefully selected to fill it.

"He was just happy to see you doing more than mope about." Legolas replied softly, his eyes sweeping the room. "I still like that painting."

I had to agree it was perfectly done, yet to this day I had no idea why the king would gift two children such a thing. "I never understood why he gave it to us." I said aloud without thinking.

"He assumed we would stop using the room. He wanted it for himself, but gave it to us, assuming he would get it within a few years." The prince confessed, shocking me.

I looked back at the painting, seeing it in a new light. We had only been friends a few months when it was made, and were still small elflings curled up under a tree reading a book and enjoying one another's company. "Remember when we stopped being friends?"

Legolas smiled. "That was foolish." He confessed.

"You told me I should not join the guard and I took it personally." I remembered. "And then I told you," I began to laugh, "I told you, you had better not either, for your fat head would throw you off-balance!"

"And then!" He was laughing too, "I slapped you! So you shoved me and, true to your word, I tripped over the table!"

"I thought you had hit your head and died! So I climbed out the window and onto the roof of the kitchen!" I was suddenly feeling better, more light, for Legolas was my best friend and knew how to cheer me up.

"I thought Ada was going to kill both of us, once he got you off the roof that is!" Legolas laughed, "You've always loved to climb." He reminisced. "When Lord Elrond first visited you hid and climbed a tree so you would not have to meet him."

"Then he found me and my plan backfired." I reached to the book shelf and picked up the token of that visit. "I still do not believe this is a magical Dunedain rock," I said studying it.

"But you believed Elladan then." Legolas pointed out. "Ada found it most amusing." He took the rock from me, turning it over in his hand, "Elladan said it would make our friendship sweeter."

"You believed him too." I snapped, and the prince blushed, quickly putting the rock back of the shelf as if it had bitten him. I had to laugh at him.

We finished our simple meal in silence. "Are you feeling better Tauriel?" Legolas asked as I stacked our dirty plates.

I wish he hasn't brought it back up. Why should he? I had been happy again, and he had to remind me of my shame, the fact I could not repay favor to the king. "I am fine."

"No you aren't. Give it up Forest Girl." He took the plates and managed to find a place to stack them on top of the overflowing bookshelf.

Our wine goblets were still in front of us, so I carefully sipped mine to buy time. Unfortunately, as elves, we were incredibly patient, so I knew Legolas would not grow bored and leave me.

"Legolas it is fine, do not worry yourself." He remained unconvinced so I continued. "I am just a silly emotional girl, I hear its normal to cry over nothing." For a very long moment he stared seriously at me, then he burst out laughing.

"Tauriel!" He howled. "Silly. Emotional." The chair he had sat in proved itself to be too small for him as it tipped over. He sat up, unhurt and laughing. "You- you!" He couldn't stop laughing long enough to form coherent sentences.

"I do not see the humor!" I snapped as he righted his chair and sat back down at the table.

"Tauriel," he said, finally having calmed down, "You are neither silly nor overly emotional." While he was still laughing I could see in his eyes real concern. He was worried about me. "Let me help you."

"I do not wish to burden you."

"It won't be a burden." He assured me quietly, taking another drink of his wine. "Friendship is never a burden." I could see that my refusal was worrying him more than my problems would, so I relented.

"Your father raised me, practically as his own after my parents were killed." I said softly. "I barely remember them myself, but he took me, a strange daughter of strangers into his home and cared for me." Legolas knew this of course.

"I think," Legolas said softly, "And do not take this the wrong way, I think he wanted a friend for me. In all Mirkwood you are the closest to my age. He wanted me to have a friend."

"I know. I am grateful, for he gave me the best friend I could ever have." I sipped more wine, trying to keep Legolas from digging deeper.

"But?" Legolas asked softly. "That is not what upset you Tauriel. I know you better than to think that."

"I failed him. All he has done for me and I failed him."

"I have already told you, it was just dwarves." Legolas assured me. "And that Ada and I would have supported you no matter what path you took. He is delighted you chose to devote your life to protecting the wood, but if you had chosen the life of say, a shoemaker," I snorted at the thought, "He would have backed you."

"I know. I truly did want to be a warrior, not just for your father, but also for my parents." I sighed. "I want to protect others from the pain I felt when the spiders killed them." I shivered violently, just thinking about my parents' deaths.

Legolas nodded, "I understand. I feel the same way about the orcs that got my mother." We sat in silence a minute, thinking on our lost parents.

"Tauriel?" He asked finally. "Do you still feel as though you have something to prove? To repay?"

"No." I answered, truthfully. "I do not. Thank you Legolas."

He smiled. "Now," he said standing, "If you don't mind returning the dished to the kitchens, I will go speak with my father, before he once again gets the delusion that we are engaged."

Laughing I took his goblet from him and stacked it on the plates next to mine, "I feel my job is easier. I do not envy you my Prince."

He glared at me and I returned the look. It did not last for long however, neither of us could maintain a serious face indefinitely, and laughing we left Vin Sambe.


End file.
